Year End review: Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions

Following are the highlights of the activities of Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions during the year 2016:

Prime Minister confers awards for excellence in implementation of priority programmes on 10th Civil Services Day, 21st April, 2016. For the priority programme Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana (PMJSY), Nagaon, Assam was awarded in North East and Hill States category, Chandigarh in UTs and North 24 Parganas, West Bengal in Other States group. Under Swachh Bharat Mission (Gramin), West Sikkim and Bikaner, Rajasthan were awarded in North East & Hill states and Other States category respectively. Under Swachh Vidyalaya programme, Anantnag, Jammu and Kashmir, Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Ananthapuramu, Andhra Pradesh were awarded in North East & Hill states, UTs and Other States group respectively. In the implementation of Soil Health Card Scheme, Hamirpur, Himachal Pradesh and Balrampur, Chhattisgarh were conferred award in North East and Hill states and Other States respectively.

Prime Minister addresses IAS Officers of the 2014 batch, August 02, 2016. The Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi addressed the 2014 batch of IAS officers posted as Assistant Secretaries in the Government of India. He advised the young IAS officers to remain sensitive to their circumstances and surroundings, in order to be able to effectively connect with the people of India. The Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi chaired the Valedictory Session of Assistant Secretaries on October 27, 2016. Eight selected presentations on various themes of governance were made by the officers, on themes such as DBT, Swachh Bharat, e-Courts, Tourism, Health and Satellite Applications in Governance.

Launching of six major initiatives of DoPT. On the occasion of ‘Good Governance Day’, coinciding with the birthday of former Prime Minister Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee on December 25, 2016, Dr. Jitendra Singh launched six major initiatives of the DoPT. The initiatives are: Recruitment Rules Formation, Amendment Monitoring System (RRFAMS), Immovable Property Return through Property Related Information System (PRISM), announcement of E-Service Book, Mandatory online filing of APAR by all AIS and Central Group ‘A’ Service Officers, EO App on iPhone Operating System (iOS) and launching of redesigned website of DoPT.

Employees Online (EO) Mobile App of DoPT. Earlier, on October 28, 2016, MoS Dr.Jitendra Singh launched the Employees Online (EO) App. EO App is a mobile application of the Department of Personnel & Training (DoPT), Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions. The application would enable its users, which may include officers, media persons and all stakeholders to stay updated on real time basis with appointments and postings approved by the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC) and vacancies at senior level in the Government of India.

MoS Dr Jitendra Singh launches the telephonic feedback system for grievance redressal. Setting a precedence, the MoS (PP) Dr Jitendra Singh initiated a telephone feedback mechanism for grievance redressal of the citizens on March 22, 2016. He personally calls some complainants chosen on random basis weekly, who had registered their grievances in the Department of Administrative Reforms and Public Grievances (DARPG) and their grievances were disposed off. The Minister and senior officers of the DARPG also seek their feedback regarding the response given by the Government to the grievances. Dr Jitendra Singh also awarded Certificates of Appreciation to the Ministries/Departments for their performance in CPGRAMS during the year.

Seeding of Aadhaar numbers in Pensioners’ Accounts. MoS Dr Jitendra Singh directed that priority should be given to pensioners visiting the bank branches for seeding Aadhaar number in their bank account. Special AADHAAR Seeding Camps were held from May 30, 2016 to June 10, 2016. These camps were organised all over the country in Pension disbursing banks and their branches. Eighty-seven percent of Central Government pensioners of all age categories have seeded their bank accounts with Aadhaar number.

Discontinuation of Interview at Lower Level Posts. The Central Government has decided to dispense with the interview for all Group C (including Group D) and non-gazetted Group B category in Central Government by 31.12.2015. Accordingly, instructions have been issued to the Staff Selection Commission mandated with the recruitment of mainly Group B (Non-Gazetted) and Group C (Non-technical) posts in the Central Ministries/Departments to discontinue the interview in all mandated recruitments commencing from 1.1.2016.

The Government decided that the issue of appointment letters need not be withheld pending the verification of character and antecedents of the successful candidates. The appointing authorities will issue provisional appointment letters after obtaining the attestation form and self declaration from the candidate.

Procedural requirements for Leave Travel Concession simplified. The Department of Personnel and Training has eased the difficulties faced by the Government employees in application and settlement of the Leave Travel Concession (LTC) claims. A copy of guidelines, that needs to be followed while availing LTC, is to be provided for the Government servant while applying for LTC.

19th National Conference on e-governance in Nagpur. The Union Minister for Road Transport & Highways and Shipping, Shri Nitin Gadkari and the Minister of State for Development of North Eastern Region (I/C), Prime Minister’s Office, Personnel, Public Grievances & Pensions, Department of Atomic Energy, Department of Space, Dr. Jitendra Singh inaugurated the 19th National conference on e-governance in Nagpur on January 21, 2016. The Chief Minister of Maharashtra, Shri Devendra Fadnavis presented the National Awards for e-Governance for the Year 2015-16 in Nagpur on January 22, 2016. The awards were given for exemplary implementation of e-Governance initiatives.

Workshops on pre-retirement counselling on ‘Sankalp’ and ‘Anubhav’. The Department of Pensions and Pensioners’ Welfare, Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances & Pensions organized workshops on issues related to Pre-Retirement counselling on ‘Sankalp’ and ‘Anubhav’ during the year. Workshops are organized wherein the retiring employees are counselled on issues regarding steps and precaution to ensure timely payment of their retirement dues, the CGHS/medical facilities available after retirement and other related issues, most important being encouragement to employees to involve themselves in the social activities by using the time and skill available with them.

National Symposium on Excellence in Training focuses on Citizen Centric Governance. Dr. P. K. Mishra, Additional Principal Secretary to the Prime Minister inaugurated the 2nd National Symposium on Excellence in Training (NSET) on May 27, 2016. The Symposium was attended by more than 375 delegates that included Heads of State ATIs/ Central Training Institutes (CTIs) and the Faculty, Trainers and experts from Government and Private Institutions. Over-arching theme of the Symposium was Citizen Centric Governance and changing the mindset of Civil Servants to service orientation.

Two-day Regional Conference on ‘Path Breaking and High Impact Initiatives in Citizen Centric Services Delivery System’ in Guwahati, Assam (15-16 September, 2016). The conference is being organised by the Department of Administrative Reforms & Public Grievances (DARPG), Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances & Pensions, Government of India in collaboration with the Government of Assam. Delegates from 8 states of North Eastern Region and 4 states of Eastern Region i.e. West Bengal, Bihar, Odisha and Jharkhand and senior officers of DARPG participated in the conference.

Workshop on e-Office organised by DARPG (September 08, 2016). The workshop was organised in the light of the fact that the e-Office is an important tool of e-Governance for bringing efficiency and quality in public service delivery and the DARPG is the nodal Department for implementation of e-Office in Central Ministries/Departments.

Two-day Regional Conference on ‘Innovations in Citizen Centric Services Delivery’ in Jaipur (December 21-22, 2016). The Department of Administrative Reforms & Public Grievances (DARPG), Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances & Pensions, Government of India is organising a 2-day Regional Conference on ‘Innovations in Citizen Centric Services Delivery’ in Jaipur, in collaboration with Government of Rajasthan. he Conference at Jaipur is an effort to create a common platform to share experiences in the formulation and implementation of best practises in citizen centric governance, improved public service delivery through e-Governance, transparent, accountable and citizen-friendly effective administration.

Vigilance Awareness Week observed. The Central Vigilance Commission, as part of its efforts to promote probity in public life and to achieve a corruption free society, observes Vigilance Awareness Week every year. The week in which 31st October, the birthday of late Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel falls is observed as Vigilance Awareness Week. “Public participation in promoting integrity and eradicating Corruption” was chosen as the theme for Vigilance Awareness Week this year by the Commission. The Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi attended the Valedictory Function of Vigilance Awareness Week 2016 on November 07, 2016. Speaking on the occasion, he said that technology has a major role to play in bringing in transparency, and curbing corruption. The National Seminar on the occasion of the Vigilance Awareness Week-2016 was also held.

Annual Convention of the Central Information Commission (CIC). Two-day Annual Convention of the Central Information Commission (CIC) was organised on November 07-08, 2016. The Conference was inaugurated by the Union Home Minister Shri Rajnath Singh. The Annual Convention has contributed immensely in generating awareness about innovative use of RTI provisions for the benefit of the citizenry thereby strengthening public trust in democracy.

Secretary, DARPG attends the Meeting of General Members of CAPAM at Malaysia (22nd August, 2016). An Indian delegation led by the Secretary, DARPG Shri C Viswanath visited Malaysia from August 17-20, 2016 to attend the Meeting of General Members of Commonwealth Association for Public Administration & Management (CAPAM) & CAPAM Biennial Conference at Putrajaya. Shri C. Viswanath was elected on Board of Directors of CAPAM. DARPG is an institutional member of Commonwealth Association for Public Administration and Management (CAPAM) since 1997. CAPAM is an international network of senior public servants, Heads of Governments, academics and researchers from over 50 Commonwealth countries.

Swachhta Pakhwada organised by DoPT. The Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT), Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions organised the Swachhta Pakhwada from December 01 to December 15, 2016. During the Swachhta Pakhwada, various activities were undertaken as a massive cleanliness drive by DoPT. A Poster(s)/Slogan Competition was also organised on the theme of Swachha Bharat during Swachha Bharat Pakhwada.